Monday, January 07, 2019

Three Identical Strangers

A lot of readers have said their favorite movie of the year is THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS and I would be hard-pressed to disagree. It’s a documentary that features one bombshell after another and ultimately is a very weird and tragic story.

Without giving anything away, it’s the story of three identical triplets who were separated at birth and unaware of their brothers. And then in their early twenties they happened to stumble upon each other. How they did was interesting, but the story really takes off from there. I absolutely recommend this film.

It was especially poignant for me.

Because I had met them.

When they all found each other it became a big feel-good story. They made the rounds on TV talk shows and became minor celebrities. We had them on CHEERS. We used them in a teaser.

I had forgotten until watching the film when suddenly it hit me -- "Oh shit!  I KNOW these guys!"

They were nice happy-go-lucky trio really enjoying their fifteen minutes of fame.

Who knew the ultimate bizarre backstory?  

Needless to say, watching the film, my heart really ached for them. The movie is worth seeing. And I’m starting to think maybe it is my movie of the year.

20 comments :

  1. I'm glad you liked it, Ken. It's an astonishing story that shows the bright side of humanity but also the dark and grim side. I won't spoil it either. Suffice to say it's really hard to fathom what some people will do to their fellow man.

    On a different point, highlight of the Golden Globes was Christian Bale thanking Satan for his inspiration in helping him to play Dick Cheney. Lowlight was the loooong speeches by Patricia Arquette and Regina King. I think they might still be talking.

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    1. Jen from Jersey1/07/2019 12:29 PM

      Beware Peter. The Dems are increasingly supporting BDS.

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    2. Jen

      Huh? I don't know what that has to do with my comment. And I live in the UK and can't vote Democrat or anything else in the States.

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    3. Jen from Jersey1/08/2019 4:14 PM

      Your comment had nothing to do with Ken’s post. You liked Bale’s dig at Cheney. I’m exhausted from celebrities weighing in on politics and the left acting superior.

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    4. I take your point but Bale's joke wasn't exactly random. He'd just won an award for playing Cheney in a film about Cheney.

      It's not a question of left and right. Cheney is objectively a rotten, morally bankrupt person.

      I don't support BDS. Individual Democrats might be supporting it but it's hardly official policy.

      As for celebrities weighing in on politics, it works both ways. James Woods, Scott Baio, Kanye West and Jon Voight are just four who are vocal in their support for Trump.

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  2. It really blew me away - just an astounding film!

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  3. On various review channels, "A Quiet Place" and "Three Identical Strangers" are being rated as the best and also under rated since they are not getting any awards recognition.

    To add to that is another under rated movie "Bad Times at the El Royale". Saw the movie for Jeff Bridges. Even otherwise, I am partial to any movie that features motels. We don't have such things here. So I like seeing movies where some part of the story revolves around the motels. "No Country for Old men" which has a few scenes in motels, is my favorite.

    Spoiler Alert :
    In "Bad Times at the El Royale", the hotel seems to be a sleazy one, which they hint is monitored by the government agencies. Also one important historical figure is mentioned thru the movie. Worth seeing once.

    Already mentioned in another post : My favorite of the year was "Sicario Day of the Soldado". Sequels almost always sucks, but this one has done well.

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  4. I too very much admired this documentary. I was still thinking about it for days after I saw it.
    My husband and I once ate at their New York restaurant, Triplets- I think in the early 80s. I recognized the outside as soon as they showed it. The place was like a big noisy party- with music and dancing. And an emcee announcing stuff like Congratulations to Betty and Bob Goldberg, who are here tonight celebrating their 40th Anniversary.
    There was a big menu featuring big portions of Jewish-style food. For a fixed price you could order anything and everything on the menu. We were there for a family meet-up organized by my cousin; and as part of the dessert course, they brought out seltzer bottles and chocolate syrup; and we all had egg creams hand-made by another cousin's husband, using the recipe he remembered from his Dad's candy store in Brooklyn, in the 20s and 30s.

    We had a great time and left with a doggie bag containing two great big breaded veal chops that we'd ordered but were too full to eat. They made a delicious dinner the following night.

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  5. In case you missed, here is Glenn Close's speech
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjvVa3qudMg

    She has won so many awards, you would think she will hold it together. But no...... she gave a sappy crappy speech like the conceited Frances McDormand. So much weeping for Golden Globes, then imagine Oscars.

    And Oscars this time will be about Glenn being the center of attention and not Meryl.

    The hosts sucked big time.
    Sandra Oh hosted (all in the name of diversity), so the waiters and the busboys gave her an award.

    She is NOT funny. Kick her out.

    Bring back Ricky Gervais.

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  6. For those who want to see the movie, CNN is airing it on Sunday, January 27th.

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  7. Very good movie but what happened to them was terribly amoral.

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  8. As someone who was adopted I know I have at least one sibling and probably many more. However, I have never felt the need or desire to connect with them or any other potential blood-relative. I knew I was adopted very early on. It was never a secret. And I've never thought of my "adoptive" parents as anything else but Mom and Dad.
    I've known adoptees that have tracked down their birth parents. In a few cases it was glorious and magical like in a T.V. movie. I also know a couple of people that were crushed when the reunion didn't go as hoped, like in a different kind of T.V. movie. It may be different with siblings, but I wouldn't know.
    I have never taken one of those DNA tests. I'm curious about my heritage, yet the last thing I want is a bunch of long lost relatives calling me. (Or the police, for that matter.{Using familial DNA to track down criminals.})
    I'm not proselytizing, but I know I'll meet all these people in heaven. We can catch up then.
    M.B.

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  9. Brian,

    Why the Glenn Close hate? She was obviously shocked: Lady Gaga was the overwhelming favorite to win the category. As for winning "so many awards," her two previous Golden Globe wins were more than a decade ago, and she's won the Oscar (checks notes)... NEVER. She's 0-for-6. And I thought her speech was great: genuine, happy, and given the subject of her film, an obvious and clear connection to the issue she raised.

    But I agree with you completely about the hosts.

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  10. The idea that three babies should be part of an experiment is both cruel and weird; even more so when you consider these were Jewish babies and WWII was only 16 years gone. What were these doctors thinking?!?

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    Replies
    1. Tony, you could have put a spoiler alert for those who haven't seen the film.

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  11. If you look back at the first New York Post story when this was uncovered, it says there was a FOURTH brother that died at childbirth, but for some reason it totally was left out of the film.

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  12. Ken, do you know which episode?

    I agree, fabulous movie.

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  13. Yea, Sandy and Andy were pretty bad. Was that thing with Jim Carry a gag? Was I the only one who didn't think it was funny. That's the thing with award shows, you don't know when they are funny and when they are not.
    Like I told Ken, I could not believe how good Dick Van Dyke was looking.


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  14. Wasn't this also the plot of Orphan Black?

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  15. Saying that actors or athletes should stick to acting is just a way of saying that you disagree with their opinion.

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